Best throwing knife material

[Kakumei]

I'm new to knife throwing, and I was wondering if someone could break down the best metal material for knives, I have some cheap stainless steel kunai, and a recently bought cold steel true flight thrower which is 1055 carbon. I ask because I throw into plywood and the point on my true flight has bent after the first 20 throws, my kunai tips bent also but after atleast 2 or 3 weaks of throwing and I missed alot more with those. Granted their is a substantial difference of weight between the two types I was wondering if some one could elaborate of the importance on material of throwing knives between 420 and 440 stainless steel, and carbon steel.

Thanks!

OH yea, is it ok to throw into 1/4 inch plywood and half 1/2 plywood, I think I would prefer something that isnt too easy to stick just so I know my throw is worth it.

 

[idaho]

I'm new to knife throwing, and I was wondering if someone could break down the best metal material for knives, I have some cheap stainless steel kunai, and a recently bought cold steel true flight thrower which is 1055 carbon. I ask because I throw into plywood and the point on my true flight has bent after the first 20 throws, my kunai tips bent also but after atleast 2 or 3 weaks of throwing and I missed alot more with those. Granted their is a substantial difference of weight between the two types I was wondering if some one could elaborate of the importance on material of throwing knives between 420 and 440 stainless steel, and carbon steel.

Thanks!

OH yea, is it ok to throw into 1/4 inch plywood and half 1/2 plywood, I think I would prefer something that isnt too easy to stick just so I know my throw is worth it.

The best would be some shock resistant carbon steel. Like S5, S7, or something else with high impact resistance like L6.

1055 or higher (like 1095) can break (I've seen broken true flights). 420/440 is NOT a material for a proper throwing knife.

 

[Rat Finkenstein]

you should throw into end grain rounds of pine or other soft woods, or you can build an end grain target from 2x4s. Rounds are the easiest. Plywood is hard.

There are plenty of good steels for throwers, a spring tempered carbon steel is what I would suggest. Not a fan of stainless. If you can find them cheap, sks spike bayonets make fun throwers. Most cheapo thrower sets are too small and light to be worthwhile.

 

[MDH16]

I can't comment much on the tru-flight throwers from CS as I have never even seen one. While I am not typically a big fan of stainless in most knife applications or of United Cutlery, I have a set of the old Hibben designed large throwers from United, they are supposed to be in 420 J2, at least the new ones are. At any rate, I have had these things since the beginning of time, like the early late 80's early 90's they have seen a tremendous amount of use and abuse, the edges are nicked and dinged all to hell they have been thrown into sawn butts, plywood, trees, telephone poles, scrap sheet metal, and once a defunct Kerosun heater (I highly dis-commend this practice), they have impacted rocks, concrete blacktop and other knives but the tips are still in great shape.
With regards to your target, I agree with the others, don't throw at plywood, but for a different readon, that being that it's bouncy. Sooner or later you are going to start throwing harder and trying fancy crap like point blank throws. At which point the knife is going to take a bad bounce and come back and stick in your arm if you are lucky or your neck or eye if you aren't. Then you have to bandage it yourself, because your wife can't help because she's a big weenie and doesn't like the sight of blood, and she's laughing too hard to be of any help anyway. Then you have to drive yourself to the ER, because your wife is still laughing, and if she takes you she's totally going to rat you out on the nature of the wound. Then you have to think of an appropriate lie to tell the ER staff to explain the self inflicted stab wound on your arm. If you tell them the truth you are going to feel like a jackass, they are going to call the cops because there's almost always a reporting requirement for knife and gun shot wounds, then you are going to have to explain it to the cops, and you are going to feel like a jackass all over again, and it's probably going to wind up in the paper, and everyone, ER staff and cops, are going to be laughing at you if they believe you, if the cops don't believe you they are going to go ask your wife all sorts of questions and insinuate that she stabbed you, because a knife wound to the forearm is a classic defensive wound, which is going to make her SUPER happy, and YOU WILL NEVER HEAR THE END OF IT.
So, don't throw at plywood...
MDH

 

[Charlie_K]

What about the standard low carbon 1018 type steels? Aren't throwing knives to be relatively soft so they dent rather than break, and if they hit something hard like a rock they can be bent back into the proper shape?

 

[Rat Finkenstein]

What about the standard low carbon 1018 type steels? Aren't throwing knives to be relatively soft so they dent rather than break, and if they hit something hard like a rock they can be bent back into the proper shape?

spring steels, spring tempered. you don't want them to take a bend.
don't throw at rocks.

 

[dingy]

1055 are tough enough for throwing .

there are many cheap ones from CS, very cool for the money.

i had have GI TANTO & true flight , with fine edge on both blades , it can cut& chop well, but you never expect that 1055 has high cutting retetion like D2 or S30V.


knives made of 1055 from CS are tough , very tough , and very easy to grind& sharpen , but those cheap things do not have any thoughs of ergonomical in design them ,

those things are semi-finished products , you will get satisified , if you have the skill to finish them.

 

[Freddyb]

For a throwing knife it is the same as a survival knife, you want a knife that can take a beating. 1095 keeps a good edge buy is to hard and brittle and can break or chip easy. 1055 is the opposite, it doesn't keep a good edge but is soft enough to where it will bend rather then chip or break. I believe 1075 is the best for throwing and survival knives. 1075 has both the qualities of high carbon and low carbon steel. I have had 1095 knives break by dropping them on the concrete. I think 1075 is a great balance steel. It is hard enough to keep a great edge, but easier to sharpen then 1095, but due to its lower carbon content it is less likely to snap or chip. 1055 is to soft, and 1095 is to hard. The softer the steel the tougher it is, meaning it won't chip or break, instead will bend or dent. 1095 is very hard and keep a good edge but due to its hardness it is very brittle. So looking for a good steel for a throwing Knife I would prefer, either 1075, or maybe a spring steel. Spring steel is very strong ND has good weight to it, and is often used in machetes because of its ability to flex and not snap. The only time 1095 can be OK, if it it has vanadium in it, for added strength. Other then that I do not prefer 1095. I have had a 1/4" 1095 survival knife snap in half like glass just by dropping it. So I am very weird about having any knife made of 1095 now. For a throwing knife you want a steel that can take a beating, and has descent weight, but won't snap easily while throwing it trees and things. 1055 is tougher then 1095 because of its lower carbon content, but it is almost to soft and the blade can bend and the tip can bend easily, not to we took you'll have to sharpen it often. So this is why I said I prefer 1075. 1075 is a good balance between both hard and softer steels so you get the best of both worlds and a dependable knife. Condor makes good 1075 blades. If you want a good throwing knife, look at Co for knives. Condor knives are a fair price, with good craftsmanship. You can beat a knife made of German 1075 steel, for 50$ or so.

 

[P.Brewster]

The question you should be asking is "what is the best heat-treatment and grind geometry for a throwing knife?" because these are the primary factors that influence durability.

A good throwing knife can be made from any steel with a carbon content from 0.5% to 1.2%. The failures you see in commercial knives are due to inappropriate heat-treatments and/or geometry, not steel selection. I don't have first-hand experience to back up the following claim, but I believe even 440C could make a great throwing knife.

Also, throwing into plywood is extremely demanding.

 

[Ote]

I throw every week with some friends, been doing it for years and have found IMO:
Hibbens - hold up well, tend to break rather than bend, have good weight.
KitRaes - bend easily, too light and I end up throwing way too hard which changes your throwing style.
single edge vs. dagger - I prefer daggers, I am more consistent, but to each their own.
I have gone to making my own using John Deere lawn mower blades.. they work awesome.

as far as targets:
We have and old section of tree in the house, works good, better for hatchets, lots of kindling for the wood burner.
A tree "round" outside, works well but can be bouncy when wet.
OSB rather than plywood, not the best but its a little more forgiving and the steel sticks well.
We also have an old table top on the floor we call our toe board, we have outlines of feet all over it and shoot for toes. its fun and things change the farther away you get.
I hold the distance record so far @ 12'

to reduce ricochet.. tape or staple heavy/corrugated cardboard over your backdrop, this allows the thrower to figure out HOW to throw without having to worry as much about getting hurt, the knives impact the cardboard and leaves an imprint (handle strike, spine, or point) and when they strike without sticking they typically just fall straight to the ground, we have all of our first timers throw into this and it works well.